CONTACT | Research
Using Art to Incorporate Culture into the ESL Classroom
There is a lot of research that supports the idea of teaching culture in the foreign language classroom. One reason why it is a good idea to incorporate culture into language learning is that it provides students with intrinsic motivation to study the language by creating a positive learning environment through the integration of language and culture…
Found in Translation: Plurilingualism as Pedagogy for Teaching Post-Secondary Vocabulary
L2 Vocabulary Teaching in a Multilingual Canada
Words are not isolated units of a language: they are components of a larger interconnected system that allow second language (L2) learners to access other components in that system (Nation, 2013). For example, knowing a word is systematically linked to knowing its spelling and pronunciation. Indeed, vocabulary proficiency has even…
Towards a Pedagogy for Reconciliation–Indigenization: What it is and Why it Belongs in the ESL Classroom
“Challenge is an integral part of transformative experience”; I came across this line in “Unsettling Faculty Minds: A Faculty Learning Community on Indigenization” (Yeo et al., 2019, p. 38). It resonated with me because this has been true in my life. Challenge usually precedes and instigates change, whether that change is internal or external. However, despite the…
The Challenges and Strengths of Culturally Diverse Classrooms: A Consideration of Intercultural Curricula
Introduction
The internationalization and multicultural character of Canada are affecting both the content and delivery of educational and language programs. As students learn, live, and work to become global citizens, the need for programs and curricula that reflect culture and diversity will only continue to grow. An intercultural curriculum, defined as a planned program of study with…
Self-assessment for language teachers
Students are very often encouraged to engage in self-assessment in the belief that this allows them to take ownership of their learning and contributes to the development of learner autonomy. Similar arguments apply to teacher self-assessment: by reflecting systematically on their competences, language teachers can become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses and take more responsibility…
Race and employability in private language schools
What racial identity do you need in order to be considered a competent English language teacher? This question may seem absurd because race seemingly has nothing to do with one’s ability in English language teaching (ELT). However, in a small study examining the experiences of 10 teachers of colour looking for work in various private language schools…
